A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 150

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 150
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“Kikiiii!”
From the moment I regained consciousness, my family showered me with extraordinarily devoted care.
“Eat up, will you? Look how thin you’ve become… Here, watch me eat well and let it stimulate your appetite!”
My father sat before me, enthusiastically devouring food to encourage my appetite.
“Listen, ahem, let’s talk, Kiana.”
And then there was Alex, who constantly fixated on conversation.
“If we’re going to… ×× brilliantly, no, get along well… um.”
Though each phrase was immediately corrected, Alex’s essential message was clear: ‘Let’s all get along going forward.’
“But do I really have to meet that smooth-talking ×bastard?”
He displayed tremendous hostility toward Edmund, whom I had officially declared as my lover to the family.
“Honestly ××, he’s too strong… If that ×bastard ever hurt you, I can’t even beat him up. I really don’t like it.”
So I told Edmund not to worry about being beaten up.
“Then start with Lord Rodrigo. How much he tormented me when we were young. There’s an order to these things, you know.”
“Ah.”
Alex’s face lit up with sudden realization.
“I’ll make sure to beat him up the moment he gets out of prison, with all the grievances I’ve accumulated against that smooth-talking bastard included.”
In any case, Alex was very obedient. I quite liked that about him. And it didn’t end there…
“If that acting prodigy ever cheats on you, I won’t let it slide.”
Joshua spoke through gritted teeth.
“I’ve got informants layered everywhere. If you try anything shady behind the scenes, I’ll grind you to dust in 「Lorelai」.”
Then he suddenly seemed to realize something and asked me with eyes full of betrayal.
“You… when you told me to spread rumors of a breakup in the garden back then… did you already know that the marquis was the Sword Master Crown Prince? Yet you just watched me spout nonsense about beating him up, telling him to get lost, to break up?”
“Yeah. It was pretty entertaining.”
“…No wonder it was so quiet.”
Joshua was instantly convinced.
“I should have suspected you from the moment you stayed silent and kept your mouth shut…”
And there was another unexpected visitor who came remarkably often—Seliet.
“Um, P-Princess…”
The moment Seliet heard news of my recovery, she shyly smiled and burst in with a bouquet of flowers.
“Congratulations on your recovery, truly.”
After Edmund took control of the imperial court, Seliet’s treatment improved considerably. Edmund wasn’t particularly fond of her as an older brother, but he still guaranteed her the treatment befitting imperial blood. Surprisingly, Dolores and Hitten hadn’t even given Seliet the opportunity to meet the Emperor, apparently worried she might gain his favor.
Thanks to Edmund’s consideration, Seliet was now visiting the Emperor during his illness and engaging in social activities. Perhaps because her fortune had turned, she no longer stammered in her speech these days.
“How much Ed oppa adored you when we were children…”
And she came every day to promote Edmund.
“You know, they say a husband candidate who’s a bit dull and meek, someone slightly easier to handle, is preferable. In that regard, Ed oppa is marriage material rather than romance material.”
It was promotion in quite a different direction from the truth, but her intentions were transparent nonetheless.
“But Princess, what about the remaining piece of your heart?”
And perhaps because she was well-versed in history, she quickly grasped the crux of the matter.
“It will definitely become a problem. Until now, Arun couldn’t find a suitable body to use as a host, but now that it’s been brought to the Capital, it will certainly find an appropriate vessel to utilize.”
Just as I had anticipated, my father brought the remaining two heart fragments with him when departing from the north to the Prelai Manor. It was unavoidable—there was the incompletely shattered heart fragment of Tailizes, and the other one’s form was unclear.
I could now roughly guess why the one was incompletely shattered. It must be because the Emperor had consumed part of the poison.
‘I can just ask him to destroy the remaining fragment himself when the Emperor wakes up. Then my illness will be completely cured.’
So the Count Prelai household was preserving that fragment until the Emperor awakened. The Imperial Physician had also stated it would happen soon anyway.
‘And the reason the final heart fragment’s form was unclear is because the main body exists in the past.’
Just as it had been translucent when I was in the past, this time the heart fragment exists opaquely in reality. Therefore, I couldn’t grasp that final fragment, nor could I destroy it.
“Since only the curse’s subject can destroy it, I can’t ask to be cursed again either…”
Seliet sighed deeply with a worried expression. So I told her not to worry.
“I have a complete plan, so you don’t need to concern yourself with that, Princess. Your worry won’t solve anything anyway, and you must be quite busy with your personal matters.”
And lately, Seliet had been extremely busy. Surprisingly, she had a talent for shaking up high society. The beautiful Princess who had cowered in hiding out of fear of Dolores and Hitten began wielding her remarkable insight to throw her weight around everywhere once the obstacles disappeared.
“It’s not for nothing that I was the only one to notice young Ed’s unrequited love.”
Seliet winked as she spoke.
“I possess extraordinary observation and memory skills.”
Indeed, living life as exhaustingly as she did, she studied all manner of human relationships and psychology daily, memorizing them perfectly. Not only “Lorelai,” but even gossip from places I’d never heard of before. She was quite the shadowy backroom operative in her own way, far different from me.
“So when I become part of the Imperial family, I’ll take good care of everything myself.”
Seliet never dropped her sales pitch even to the end.
“The Princess will obviously never care about high society since it’s bothersome, so I’ll clean everything up from behind the scenes. You won’t need to worry about a thing.”
Of course, there was one more person who visited the Imperial Palace every day. It was Edmund, whom Seliet promoted so relentlessly every single day.
He would come in the evening, pretend to pay a gentlemanly courtesy visit and leave, then sneak back in and play all night. He always asked me what I wanted to do for fun, and when I couldn’t give a proper answer, he’d play however he wanted.
Honestly, the physical gap was so large that aside from being excessively tired, I didn’t find Edmund’s way of “playing” particularly bad either. Of course, compared to me… Edmund was enjoying himself to the point of losing his mind.
And after some time passed like that.
【Kiana!】
Piyak returned at exactly the moment I had calculated. It took a bit longer because he was moving something very heavy.
【I did the task well! Wow, moving something this heavy—Piyak is amazing!】
“Well done.”
I, who had been waiting for Piyak together with Edmund, smiled softly.
“Let’s move on to the next task.”
【…Huh?】
“We can’t leave any loose ends. We need to resolve everything quickly.”
That final heart fragment that Elika Prelai and Seliet had been worried about. Now containing Roki’s soul, it was time to deal with that final loose end that would wander seeking a new body driven by greed.
“Piyak, if you try hard, you’ll be able to move us both. You can do it.”
Since Quack-quack did it 1,200 years ago, Piyak should be able to do it too. Piyak looked at Edmund and me with suspicious eyes and asked.
【Hmm… Does that mean with this team, the three of us can resolve it?】
“No. Unfortunately, we can’t do it with just our strength alone.”
I spoke with confidence.
“Just like 1,200 years ago, a Spirit must help us this time. Let’s go get the Spirit.”
At my words, Edmund slightly furrowed his brow and replied.
“You’re referring to that admirable perverted Spirit who only goes on about kisses, correct?”
Hmm, it seems like an odd adjective that doesn’t quite fit with “perverted” has been attached. Yet Edmund continued in such a matter-of-fact tone that I couldn’t even point it out.
“But Kiana, the Spirit Forest can only be entered once a year. We’d have to wait nearly a year until the next hunting tournament.”
“Of course, I can’t wait that long.”
I stroked Piyak and let out a quiet laugh.
While I lay unconscious, Elika Prelai, wearing Mayer’s face, had explained something to me.
【Piyak could move not only me but also Ed and a Spirit to the past. And once a Spirit moved, it could exert physical influence at any point in time. It could even recognize me and Otson, who were time traveling.】
So there was a way.
“Piyak will take us to the past. To the day the last hunting tournament took place.”
“Hmm?”
“We just need to bring back a Spirit from there.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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